The joint work between the two companies allowed Spence to achieve full autonomy of its mine operations last April, a process that has allowed the movement of 80 million tons of material, with zero safety incidents.

A Pampa Norte delegation received executives of the Japanese manufacturer Komatsu, to celebrate three months since Spence achieved 100% autonomy in its mine operations, after intense collaborative work of high technological standards by the management and professional teams of both companies.

In the field, they were able to visit the Spence Truck Shop and see the results of this first stage of operation, after 33 CAEX 980E-5 AT trucks and 5 drilling rigs completed the process. This is in addition to the 6 large-scale technological innovation projects that Komatsu has active in Chile.

The visit was led by the president of Pampa Norte, Cristian Sandoval, accompanied by the top executives of Spence and Technology of BHP Minerals Americas, while Komatsu was represented by Carlos Soto, vice president of the Komatsu Cummins Group, along with national and regional executives.

Since achieving full autonomy, Spence has completed the movement of 80 million tons of material without incidents, exceeding the production plan to date.

"This is the largest autonomy fleet operating in Latin America and is among the largest in copper production. Today the challenge is to continue collaborating with our teams and experience to not only maintain this operation with high standards of efficiency and safety, but to make it a benchmark for the entire mining industry worldwide," expressed Carlos Soto.

Likewise, Cristian Sandoval, stressed that Spence completed the autonomy process ahead of schedule, with zero safety incidents, a job reconversion of over 80% and with a female participation of 50% in its teams.

"This process was a challenge that began in a context where there was no confidence that we would be able to achieve the autonomy of our trucks. On this path we had several relevant milestones, such as the high level of labor reconversion, the full incorporation of women, more than 500 trained workers and excellent safety management. Today, Spence exhibits very positive results and can continue to take decisive steps to position our leadership in autonomy at a global level."

Based on technological innovations, the autonomy process at Spence has made it possible to generate knowledge transfer between Komatsu and the company on topics such as theoretical and practical training of system operators.